Management mudslinging is the low percentage, high stakes process of advancing high performance employees to management positions without appropriate preparation, training or coaching. Apparently the presumption is that management is an easy job. Wow! How could someone ever conclude that motivating others to enthusiastically and effectively do what others want done is easier than looking out for yourself? Or maybe there is something to the premise that employees naturally want to do what managers want done. Unless you have a short memory of your days as an employee, you recognize that the only “something” applicable to that premise is “malarkey”. No doubt in consideration of the loss of a business owner’s resources (time, people and money) management mudslinging is a very expensive practice. In light of the ridiculousness of the logic relative to the cost, the only reasonable conclusion is that management mudslinging exists only due to ignorance, laziness or irresponsibility, none of which are long term traits of business owners.
So what’s the alternative to management mudslinging? It is called management development. Irrespective of what business owners think, they are really in the people business. In the absence of the right people doing the right things at the right time in the right manner the concept of effectively and profitably delivering your goods and/or services become a formidable challenge. Deductive reasoning contends that business owners and senior managers are entrusting line managers with the oversight, motivation, direction and accountability of their most important resource, people who are depended upon to deal with the customers and produce the goods or services. Business owners are also relying upon managers to convey to employees the core values and non negotiables that reflect the delicate points of the desired culture such as integrity, customer satisfaction, and quality. Consequently, deductive reasoning would further support that investment in a development program for prospective managers, who are effectively the trustees of the most valuable business resource (people), would be a very worthwhile long term endeavor.
A management development program is a realistic initiative to support the admirable commitment that “we promote from within”. A program involves forethought, coaching and training stellar employees to eliminate irresponsible management mudslinging. And the good news is, that a management development program does not require the resources of a Fortune 500 company. With less margin for losing stellar employees I’ll show you how even small companies can establish their management development program.
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